About Justin
Meet Justin Britt
I am a Herndon resident, business owner, husband, father, and community advocate who has called Herndon home for more than 25 years.
Like many residents, I love Herndon because of its strong sense of community, historic charm, and vibrant local events. I am running for Town Council because I believe Herndon has incredible potential. I believe we can preserve what makes our town special while making it easier for residents, businesses, and property owners to invest, improve, and grow.
Herndon has great bones. Now it's time to build on them.
Qualifications
I bring more than three decades of leadership, business, and project management experience to the table.
As a marketing director and project leader, I manage large teams, complex initiatives, and multi-million-dollar budgets. My career has focused on improving processes, removing bottlenecks, creating accountability, and delivering measurable results. My wife and I both founded and manage small businesses in the Town of Herndon.
I dedicate time to serving the community through local volunteer organizations such as Herndon Optimist, Volunteer Fairfax, Hardt of Christmas, at local events such as the Herndon Festival and as vice president of our community HOA. I also mentor emerging professionals through leadership development programs, helping cultivate future leaders and drive organizational improvements through Deltek's LEAD program.
Most importantly, I am known as someone who listens, works collaboratively, and finds practical solutions. Succeeding in business and government requires consideration, competence and compromise. That's the approach I will bring to Town Council.
My Priorities
Growth: Herndon has too much potential to leave prime locations sitting empty. We must bring accountability to long-vacant properties to grow our tax base, lower the financial burden on homeowners, and strengthen the entire community.
- Clear Guidelines: With the expansion of the Metro corridor and emerging regional industries, Herndon is welcoming thousands of new residents who want to live, work, and invest here. Developers hate uncertainty, to attract top-tier investment, we must make sure we have clear, upfront development guidelines and transparent zoning toolkits that align with the Small Area and Herndon 2050 Comprehensive Plans.
- Fill Empty Spaces: Expedite permitting and real estate tax abatements for those who renovate, improve or sell. At the same time we must hold long term stagnant owners accountable through enforcement mechanisms like Vacant Property Registry, strict code enforcement, and derelict building tax classifications. An empty lot does not help the town.
- Resolve the Comstock Problem: We must prioritize getting the Downtown development project back on track. It is the financial and structural lynchpin to bringing in the infrastructure, foot traffic, and commercial tax revenue our town needs.
- Activate Dormant Properties: Once litigation is settled, we should turn empty spaces like the old Subaru dealership into temporary parks, community spaces, or pop-up hubs for local vendors.
- Metro Area Growth: The arrival of the new Metro area is a massive economic catalyst for Herndon. We need clear, predictable guidelines for affordable housing and greenspace so developers understand what they are getting into from day one. Environmental stewardship, affordable / workforce housing and economic growth must go hand-in-hand.
Community: I will always support the beloved events and traditions—like Friday Night Live and the 4th of July celebrations—that make Herndon special. At the same time, we must expand outdoor dining, improve traffic flow, and ensure our streets remain safe and welcoming.
- Support for Community Events: Our community events help define Herndon. I will be a strong advocate for those already in place as well as advocating for new opportunities by actively utilizing activated vacant lots, temporary community spaces, or town squares to host local and small business pop-up markets, local food trucks, and vendor fairs.
- Prioritize Homeownership: As Herndon grows, we'll need more apartments, affordable housing and workforce housing. But we should also prioritize homes, townhomes, and condos that people can own. Homeownership helps families build wealth, strengthens neighborhoods, and gives more residents a lasting stake in our community.
- Link the Metro with Downtown: The Metro will bring added visitors (and growth) to Herndon. We need to bridge the Metro to our historic downtown with weekend trolley service, clear wayfinding signage, ADA-compliant sidewalks, historic markers, attractive art, and landscaping that draws cyclists and walkers directly into our business district.
- Prioritize Public Safety & Town Assets: As regional challenges grow, we must ensure our local police department has the resources they need so residents (and visitors) feel safe.
Efficiency: Town Hall should support residents and small businesses by modernizing processes, reducing unnecessary delays, and increasing accountability. If a homeowner wants to improve their property or a small business wants to upgrade a storefront, they shouldn't have to wait months.
- Fast-Track Routine Approvals: Simplify approvals between the many overlay boards (Zoning, Building Code, Architectural Review Board and Historic District Review Board hearings) Allow staff to administratively approve more routine improvements like paint, windows, awnings, signs, and outdoor dining.
- Development Transparency Dashboard: I will push to publish monthly town metrics online—including average time to first review, sign permit review times, and pending applications. In government as in business, we cannot improve what we do not track, measure, and report consistently.
- Cut Bureaucracy for Residents: Efficiency isn't just for businesses. Let's eliminate outdated administrative hoops—like requiring residents to bring a physical paper water bill to prove residency just to get a local discount at the Herndon Centennial Golf Course.
- Alleviate Traffic and Congestion: Smart growth requires smart traffic relief. I will advocate for high-tech, adaptive traffic signal coordination systems to automatically synchronize downtown lights, and look to create dedicated bus pull-offs on Elden Street so stopped buses don't back up traffic.